The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
February 2008
Lent
From time to time, the Dialogue will feature a theological or liturgical look at our seasons, our worship, and our traditions as viewed by experts and scholars in the Diocese of Utah. As we are about to enter into Lent, The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler, Canon for Ministry Formation, offers this writing.
 Canon Nestler came to the Diocese of Utah from southern California. She was Dean of the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont. She holds a Master of Theology degree from St. Mary's Seminary and University Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore and a Master of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary. She served as Priest in Charge of several Los Angeles churches and is often a speaker on issues concerning the Episcopal Church. By The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler
"Forty days and forty nights..." So begins
the hymn we often sing at Lent's beginning. Through its forty
days we prepare our hearts in humility and repentance to celebrate
the Queen of Feasts.
In the earliest churches the great vigil of Easter
sufficed for the telling of the passion, death, and resurrection stories
of our Lord. By the fourth century the larger Easter narrative had
been broken down into its distinctive events, and so developed the
observance of the Great Three Days, or Triduum: Maundy Thursday/Good
Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Day (Jewish and early Christian
liturgical days began with sundown).
The chief characteristic of this
preparation for Easter was fasting. There is some evidence that by
the second century Christians prepared for Easter by observing a two-day
fast. By the third century a holy week of fasting was kept, and at
the first Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) mention is made of the forty-day
period familiar to us. Early Christians understood forty as a number
of great symbolism, for Jesus had fasted forty days in the wilderness,
as had Moses on Mt. Sinai and Elijah on Mt. Horeb. Lent became a period
of strict fasting, spiritual sojourn and renewal.
The word "Lent" comes
from the Teutonic word for springtime, when the days lengthen. Just
as we clean our homes of winter's dirt and dust, so the church
bids us purify ourselves spiritually of the cobwebs of sin and to warm
our coldness of heart. Only then are we truly prepared to embrace the
mysteries of death and resurrection in all their fullness and hopefulness.
In
Episcopal churches we wear purple, the color of penitence and royalty.
Our sanctuaries often look barren in Lent, with the beauty of simplicity
uppermost. We are encouraged to fast as we are able, and to undertake
special works of mercy. Lent ought not to be a time only of giving
up, but also of taking up something new that shows our thankfulness
for Jesus' death on the cross and the good news of his resurrection.
The
Roman Catholic website www.churchyear.net has much more about the history,
theology, and liturgical practices of the season of Lent. Why not try
your hand at a Lenten crossword puzzle? Go to www.churchyear.net/lentpuzzle.pdf.
The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler frequently lectures and teaches on
Christian seasons. She recently completed a series on Advent at St.
James in Midvale.
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